Having hit the headlines after becoming Liverpool’s youngest-ever goalscorer with his effort against Leeds in Tuesday night’s EFL Cup quarter-final, already the speculation has begun that the English FA will look to lure Woodburn away from the Welsh youth set-up.

And, in response, Wales fans have called on national boss Chris Coleman to cap the 17-year-old to make sure he stays wearing the Dragon on his chest.

But how can the Three Lions sink their claws into a Welsh talent? WalesOnline takes a look at Woodburn’s situation.

ENGLISH BORN, WELSH FOOTBALLER

Woodburn was born in the border town of Chester, growing up in Tattenhall just a few miles outside of Wales. It was here he was spotted by Liverpool scouts and snapped up as a schoolboy by the Anfield club.

But the Merseyside giants wouldn’t have been the only talent-spotters aware of his potential. Woodburn’s links to Wales are understood to be through his mother’s father , and that was enough for those at the FAW Trust to make sure he was on their radar, certainly when it came to signing forms at Liverpool where players are routinely asked to declare their different eligibilities.

Rules state that a player can represent the land of their birth, the land of either of their parents’ birth, or the birthplace of any one of their grandparents. This applies to all age-grades.

WELSH TALENT LINE

Woodburn was first fully brought into the national youth teams set-up via the Trust having impressed in their regional development sides. In May 2013 – at the age of 13-and-a-half – Woodburn was first brought down to Dragon Park, the FAW’s development training centre in Newport.

There he played for a combined Regional Development Boys XI – combing the north and south Wales squads – against sides made up from Welsh Premier League academy centres in a competition called the Cymru Cup. It’s an event designed to give talented prospects games against players of similar ability under the watchful eye of the Trust’s top coaches as part of the talent identification process and player development plans.

Already seen as a star of the future, Woodburn was then named in Under-15 squads – the earliest age of representation – and played against Poland in Rhyl and Connah’s Quay in two games in March 2014.

Ben Woodburn in action for Wales' age group sides

ENGLAND AWARE

There was little chance England would not be alert to Woodburn, especially given Steve Cooper’s position with the English FA’s junior sides. Cooper, born in Pontypridd and son of former referee Keith Cooper, had been academy chief at Liverpool before taking up a position with England and would certainly known all about the Anfield prospect.

Indeed, Woodburn was called up by England for an Under-16 game against Belgium in August 2014. He pulled out, playing for Wales in a victory over France in Newport for the Under-16 side managed by Osian Roberts. Later that year he featured in an attack line with Swansea’s Liam Cullen and West Brom’s Tyler Roberts as Wales won the Victory Shield, beating England 1-0 along the way.

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AGE-GRADE GEM

A year later, Woodburn progressed towards the age-grade teams beyond the Trust, Geraint Williams and David Hughes selecting him for the Under-17s for friendlies and European Championship qualifying and elite round games in 2015. By 2016, he had joined several other young talents – including Ethan Amapadu – in moving into the Under-19 squad under the same coaches, recently playing in European qualifiers in North Wales where he spoke about his aim of emulating Gareth Bale and Aaron Ramsey.

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THE FIFA LOOPHOLE

Still, if he was already on England’s agenda, his record-breaking antics at Anfield on Tuesday will have made doubly-sure. It’s led to plenty claiming there is now likely to be a tug-of-war between England and Wales for his long-term allegiance.

A Fifa rule in 2004 allowed players who represented a country at youth level to change to another at senior level, providing it was before the age of 21. That age limit was scrapped in 2009 meaning players who had even played competitive Under-21 games – or even friendly senior internationals – could switch allegiance to another nation they were eligible for.

However, once they are capped in competitive games, they are then tied to that country for the remainder of their career. Players have to seek permission from Fifa to switch allegiance, but it is generally granted, especially in the case of younger players.

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THE PREVIOUS CASES

There are numerous cases of players switching allegiance, with Owen Hargreaves being one of the most famous when, having made three appearances for Wales’ Under-19 sides, he pulled out of an Under-21 squad in 2000 to accept a call-up from Howard Wilkinson for England’s Under-21s.

Hargreaves was born in Canada to a Welsh mother and English father. Former Middlesbrough defender Rhys Williams played a number of games in the ‘Golden Generation’ Under-21 sides under Brian Flynn and was named on the bench for senior matches by John Toshack, only to then switch to play for Australia, where he had been born.

Gareth Bale said no to England

There are often examples of mixed eligibility between England and Wales that has seen Wales both benefit and miss out. Gary Speed’s family were all born in England, but he only ever wanted to play for Wales after being born in Flintshire.

Ryan Giggs could not have chosen to play for England, contrary to popular belief, while Gareth Bale – who has an English grandparent – could have, but said he turned down the prospect after a “two second conversation” with his agent.

New rules established in 2009 allow those who have spent five years of compulsory education in a country to play for them without any birth lineage, something that has seen Tom Bradshaw capped by Wales recently. If those rules had existed previously, Michael Owen – the record of whom Woodburn broke on Tuesday – could have selected Wales having been born in Chester but schooled in Hawarden.

THE NEXT STEPS

That is all ultimately down to Woodburn. While there may be a clamour for Chris Coleman to cap the exciting prospect – having given a debut to club-mate Harry Wilson at the age of 16 a few years ago – the decision whether to accept would be purely down to the player himself.

Likewise, a potential call-up or promise from the English FA would mean little if the player has no strong urge to leave the Welsh set-up he’s been part of for the past three-and-a-half years. If he continues to impress, the talk and speculation will only grow. But, like his fortunes, Woodburn’s destiny is in his own hands.